Thursday, June 2, 2016

Don't criticize & complain. Encourage & support the builder!

The builders of Songbirds are young guys. This is their first big township project. They have planned it intelligently. They are constructing it meticulously. Appreciate their efforts. Admire their sincerity. Encourage them. Support them. They deserve it.

Yes, there are a few issues. But never forget that we are one family. The builder is the head of our family. Focus on what the builder has given. Not on what he hasn't.

Criticizing & complaining is easy. But you don't achieve anything by it. Instead of that - support the builder. You know that he is genuine. He is committed.

We all are in the same boat. If the builder is facing challenges like - slow booking - financial crunch - legal disputes with the landlord - irrational changes in D C Rules - you are bound to suffer a little. Bare with him. Extend your support. Encourage him to overcome it.

(Smart builders like Mr. Sanjay Deshpande of Sanjeevani Developers handle this delicate issue sensibly - they convert this stressful transaction into a public ceremony andinvite me to cover it!)

Some ask me - how do these builders react when you write such a blog?

Kolte-Patil and Satish Magar have a huge experience. They are basically kind human beings, patient businessmen, & have a lot of concern for their flat buyers. They can calmly deal with an unpleasant thing - like my blog. They simply invite me to tell their side of the storyand close the matter.

But Abhijeet Jagtap is a young man. I was not expecting Abhijeet to behave like Rajesh Patil & Satish Magar. So, when he called me to his office - I was a little surprised. The meeting went on for 3 hours. But that was not the end. He invited me to Songbirds. After the half day site visit - once again we met at his office.

After 3 meetings which went on for more than 13 hours, Abhijeet's refusal to give a video interview was unexpected.

When I visited Songbirds to interview the flat buyers - I was well prepared to listen the praise of planning & construction quality. But I was not expecting so much positive sentiments about the builder.

"How come - except you - no one is against the builder?," I askedNitin when I came back from Songbirds.

"Who told you I am against the builder? I am not against the builder. I am against his decision - flat possession only after paying club membership," said Nitin.

"Okay. I will rephrase the question - how come - except you - all are supporting the builder's decision to give possession only after paying the club membership?," I asked.

"You want to know about me or them?," Nitin asked.

"Certainly, about them!," I said.

"About them! Why didn't you ask them when you interviewed them?," Nitin said.

"I asked. They said - it's good for the flat buyers! This assures the development of the club! We have agreed to pay the club membership at the time of booking the flat - so it's not right to raise objection now!," I told Nitin.

"You know? Being considerate & communicative in the relationship - is the strength of this builder. Remember - what I told you in my interview - how open & transparent he was - how he took trouble to organize events to develop community feelings among the flat buyers - that's why when he refused flat possession I felt like my friend has backstabbed me - I was not expecting this from him!," said Nitin.

Yes! In all those meetings, Abhijeet was very considerate & communicative with me too!! His refusal was a well planned strategy to make me write a blog about Songbirds flat buyers praising him like God. He has also taken care that I should feel good about writing it!

And you know what? I really enjoyed interviewing the flat buyers of Songbirds. Our conversation was full of innocence & positivity!

Lovebirds at Songbirds, Bhugaon, just 3 KM from Kothrud, Pune:

"Okay..Done," I said - when Mr. Kunal Khande, Sales Manager & also a resident of Songbirds, told me - "We play cricket on Sunday mornings. If you come around 8.30 you can meet the flat buyers."

My life has become very pleasant. Birds wake me up in the morning. I am always full of energy. I get up early & play cricket with my neighbours. Who does that on Sundays?

Evenings are no longer lonely for my parents - they have started enjoying evenings since we shifted here.

A few families from Mumbai come here every weekend only to enjoy pure fresh air.

Living calm and quiet life in the lap of nature - breathing pure fresh air - enjoying clouds, mountains & greenery - was my dream - which completely realized here.

Daily needs? No problems. Milk, newspapers are delivered at home from day one. Grocery shops & bakeries are on the main Paud Road.

Bigbasket.com offers home delivery.

In fact, Doctors in Bhugaon charge less than Kothrud!

Basic services - like water supply - is in place.

Of course, security is good.

Everything is okay.

This is the common experience of all flat buyers about life at Songbirds. In the first phase of some 400 flats, around 50 - 60 families have already shifted. Though the possession was in March 2015, the first family shifted in December 2015 and 50 more in the first half of 2016. And a few more are expected soon.

All of these guys are early birds! All of them are from Kothrud. They booked at the very early stage of the project. When there was nothing - except land. And of course, Kunal - the Sales Manager. No sanctioned plan. No layout. No website. No brochure.

I liked the location. I liked the price. I liked the concept. I fell in love. I gave the cheque and booked the flat. Everyone said.

Same happened at the time of possession. All of them are early birds. First to shift at Songbirds.

The great thing is - their hearts were not broken! Which, you know, happens very rarely. They proved right. They got the possession of their flats.

The risk they took paid off. Financially. As well as socially. Now, they are the owners of the property which has become one of the most popular projects in Pune real estate market. Obviously, they are in love with themselves, builder & Songbirds!

But their love is not blind!

As promised - they want no vehicle zone on podium!

Hills, trees & buildings are not enough for them. They want more. For the children of Songbirds. They want amenities. Clubhouse. Swimming pool. Tennis - cricket - basketball courts.

Yes, the independent club - as good as any club in Pune - PYC, Deccan, Boat Club, Turf Club or Poona Club will add value. Membership will become a status symbol. Professionals will benefit from it. But our little boys & girls - need free space - to play - to hang out & chill - around the house - in side the safe environment of the project. Like any project.

And the approach road - from the main entrance of Songbirds to Paud Road - should be as good as the internal roads.

Wish & pray the Lovebirds inSongbirds. Located at Bhugaon. Just 3 KM from Kothrud, Pune.

If you want my advice, feel free to call me on 919860044110. First 3 minutes are free! And for more than 3 minutes - pay as you wish - you decide the value of my advice.

Of course, for a serious discussion, better fix an appointment at a time convenient to both of us. So that we can have uninterrupted & in depth discussion on my mobile (919860044110)
- on Video Hangout on Google+
- or on Skype (ravikarandeekar) .

For more than 3 minutes and up to 30 minutes - pay as you wish. After the conversation - transfer the money to my bank account. As much as you wish. From a few hundred to a few hundred thousand crore of U S Dollars or Indian Rupees. Here are my bank account details:

61 comments:

Ravi! Firstly, let me congratulate you for posting this other side too and I also congratulate all those clients who were truly considerate and believed in the right intentions of their developer! There are always two sides of a coin and sadly only one of them is highlighted!Right now everybody is suffering in every business and there are always ups and downs but not everybody cheats! I also happen to be one the clients of SKYi and believe me they are good people with good vision! They truly want to give their best in their product and are proud of it! All their previous projects are just like that! They are a new generation developers and I respect them! If there are such clients who instead of fighting with the developer (when u realise the right intentions) get the things done hand in hand, the project itself is a success! This is a true example of 'Symbiosis'!!

- On what basis are they demanding this when they had purchased when nothing was there, not even brochure ?And, they also say - "Their flats actually have all that the builder has promised!", "Focus on what the builder has given. Not on what he hasn't."

Again, contradictory statement.

" In fact, Doctors in Bhugaon charge less than Kothrud!"

- Doctors in Gadchiroli may charge even less than Bhugaon, so shift there ?Is it worth to go to remote place like Bhugaon from Kothrud just because doctor charges less, that too it's not needed on daily basis. For any major issue, one has to come to city, right ?

"A few families from Mumbai come here every weekend only to enjoy pure fresh air."- There is no dearth of such Mumbai hoarders in Pune ! They should go to Powai or Aarey colony. Fresh air is locally available. Panvel, Lonavala is even nearer to them for fresh air ! Fact is, all these are excuses of Mumbai hoarders, real intention is to make quick money, not fresh air.

Just if bigbasket delivers grocery doesn't mean that place is livable. The location has lot of issues, major being connectivity & security. Neither the road is good, nor there is any public transport. So a person is completely dependent on private vehicles. If guests are there, you will end up becoming their driver & those who can't drive vehicles will be handicapped in terms of movement outside the compound !In terms of security, just try to walk on road outside the compound of this project & see how unsafe it is, especially for women & children.

Lot of other things can be pointed out like one of the buyer said that this project minus club is zero. There is nothing in this project except mountains around. Other buyer happened to be native of the village outside the project, so one can expect biasness towards it, which is natural human tendency. Other said that this open space looks good but if open car parking are allotted which the builder has already started to do, all open area will be lost.

Certainly, each individual is different & I completely respect their views but atleast for me, this is a non-livable area irrespective of price. Issue is not being X kms from Kothrud, but how good or bad this X kms area is. This is like staying in Wagholi & saying it's just X kms from Koregaon Park !

Small suggestion for your readers -

If you really want to know how the area is irrespective of location, project, do visit it after 10 PM. There are some areas which look silent during day but at night, you will see ugly things.

1. Mandetory private club membership with membership fees upto 2 lakh for 10 years and annual maintenance fees of Rs. 18000 (with service tax) per year in addition amenities like tennnis and gym will be pay per use :). This club is not existent and still smart flat buyers on oral promise of builder who is next to god have alreday paid for this club...ha ha ha...club construction has not even started..

2. Skyi is building a big ground as part of so called club...very soon you will see this ground given on rent for weddings wtc...flat buyers can have free food at these functions...ha ha ha

3. Development charges taken from flat buyers are around 5-6 lakh each..with no amenities in society...ha ha..

The buyer has to pay amount which is mentioned in agreement. If builder is demanding few lacs more for so called club which doesn't exists at last moment & not giving possession, it is called EXTORTION. Buyers should show some spine & file case against such crook builder in consumer court & criminal case also can be filed.

And buyers in video said that builder orally had said this & that.Ok, then ask builder that you are ready to buy one more flat but 100% payment will be made as & when entire project is completed. This will be oral promise at given price, nothing in writing. Then let me know what is reaction of builder.

Stockholm syndrome can be seen as a form of traumatic bonding, which does not necessarily require a hostage scenario, but which describes "strong emotional ties that develop between two persons where one person intermittently harasses, beats, threatens, abuses, or intimidates the other."[4] One commonly used hypothesis to explain the effect of Stockholm syndrome is based on Freudian theory. It suggests that the bonding is the individual's response to trauma in becoming a victim. Identifying with the aggressor is one way that the ego defends itself. When a victim believes the same values as the aggressor, they cease to be perceived as a threat.

This unhealthy bonding solidifies when the abuser alternates between the carrot and the stick conditioning, as we’ve seen in the case of Drew and Stacy Peterson. He interlaces the abuse–the lying, the cheating, the implicit or explicit threats and insults, and even physical assault–with acts of “small kindness,” such as gifts, romantic cards, taking her out on a date to a nice restaurant, apologies and occasional compliments. Needless to say, in any rational person’s mind, a cute card or a nice compliment couldn’t erase years of abusive behavior. Yet for a woman whose independent judgment and autonomy have been severely impaired by extended intimate contact with a psychopath, it can and often does. Such a woman takes each gift, hollow promise and act of kindness as a positive sign. She mistakenly believes that her abusive partner is committed to changing his ways. She hopes that he has learned to love and appreciate her as she deserves. She wants to believe him even when the pattern of abuse is repeated over and over again, no matter how many times she forgives him. This is what trauma bonding is all about.

Some are really keen to enjoy being hit by bamboo ! Frankly, I don't have any sympathy with buyers who buy blindly, irrespective of project.

@ Enigma,These type of buyers are Majbur lachar by choice & not by force !

@ Ravi,

Actually I had written lot of things in detail but due to 4096 characters limit, had to delete some.

However, it's strange why builder - Jagtap was not giving interview to you. And the video you took actually looks more like 'TESTIMONIALS' which are put up on builders' website ! Even crook builders like Mittal group put ad like thousands of satisfied customers even when multiple cases are going on even in court against builder by buyers for cheating. Same goes for Goel Ganga, KUL etc.

Do check this video of KUL Ecoluch, where client is all praise for KUL !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3BZoIqZHR8

If Jagtap, the builder is honest, let him answer all questions straight in video interview put by Satyamev Jayate K.

It has been more than 3 months..society is not yet formed. How much time is needed for this? In the mean time builder is spending from corups which each flat buyer is contributed by paying upto 1.5 lakh each. Dumbo's are happy with this as they are saying we are paying from our pockets ha ha ha...can you beleive this?

Building private clubs seems to be new trend in extorting money...almost all new projects in bhugaon have private clubs...he he..all will be at par with PYC etc... anf STATUS symbole for singing birds..poor souls...

Frds,was reading blog link of my frd ravi regarding sangam handover in the blog felt real nice after two & half years it s all going fine...Frds those who are still following the link.. its nearly two & half years of handing over sangam, let me share despite few leaking pipes(comment on ravis blog), which we did repaired, there isnt any serious maintenance problem, not a single! We have sent draft of society formation & to my wonder its residents which are not responding for society formation as nobody is ready to take responsibility of chairman or secretory as most are IT clients & feel its added burden. We have opened account of society maintenance two years back & deposited all the funds related to society in it! Ravida u should write about this aspect as presently in five of our projects we are cheesing our clients to form society & no response from flat holders! And where clients respond like sadafulee at baner, there is issue of obscured demands in agreement draft! BTW the dawabindu, IT guys group booking in sus, within 1 year of completion society conveyed & handed over! THERE TOO EVEN THEIR LAWYER SAID FIRST TIME I AM EXPERIENCING BUILDER PERUSING CONVEYANCE :)

I agree with you and also experienced how flat buyers are least bothered about their own rights and duties as well. It's not always the builders but dumb buyers who's attitude is like "as bail muze mar".if you ask singing birds about conveyance deed 90% won't have a clue :).

If buyers are least bothered about Society then you should hand over responsibility to PMC or else there will be a day when one of the buyer will wake up and ask you why Society formation is not done.

As far as maintenance issues are concerned, I can't comment about that because I don't have any idea about it.

" We have sent draft of society formation & to my wonder its residents which are not responding for society formation as nobody is ready to take responsibility of chairman or secretory as most are IT clients & feel its added burden. "

- There are several flat buyers who ones happen to be yedas. Most of them don't even know difference between agreement to sale & sale deed or handover & conveyance deed !

If they are not ready to take handover, send them a letter stating that if handover is not taken in 2 weeks, the agreements will be canceled (the same content sent by criminals in CREDAI on VAT issue to scare flat buyers). Next day morning, all of such yedas running away from their rights & responsibilities will be present in your office to take handover !

BTW, this is such a strange situation, in dawabindu project, buyers hired lawyer & builder did conveyance which is what needs to be done, while sangam buyers are running away from doing it !

yes dear Monk, we will write, in-fact I have kept record of emails as well draft handing over to the ad-hock committee members, so tomorrow no member should say they havent received society conveyance drafts! I think a strong need is there to take awarenss prograam for the flat buyers & a logical one about their rights as well responsibilities which comes alongwith the rights; what I have observed is most flat buyers want to execute their rights but without taking responsibility! For eg they are not aware about society formation process & formalities required for the same, all they know is builder should form a society but its not builder that has to form a society by coming together as builder is just a facilitator, the flat holders are the society is they forget or are not ready to take lead! Maintenance has two dimensions, one is civil maintenance which is outcome of bad workmanship, that is surely buuilders responsibility but routine maintaiance ie gardening, service contracts of lifts etc is duty of residents only & for that society or apartment whatever it may be, but a body has to be in place! This is where many flat holders feel all is going fine so why bother to take lead! People like yourself, ravi & like minded can form a forum to educate both sides of coin is what i feel, will surely contribute for any assistance!

Builders are getting into bigger mess now. The private equity in real estate has fallen by 70%, while black money is finding it's way in real estate difficult due to lot of checks to curb menace of black money has been initiated by Govt. Black money interest costs has substantially increased, due to which builders will find difficult to finance projects from black money investors. All this is actually good for end users as builders will be forced to crash property prices.

Exclusive: PE deals in Indian real estate headed for a slowdown in 2016?

http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/42702-42702/

A crackdown on black money has made the cost of capital costlier in the black economy with the lending rates having risen to as high as 34 percent, from about 24 percent a year ago, as per the study by Ambit Capital Research.

The report said that since the Modi government assumed power there has been a clear step-up in checks around gold transactions and it has become increasingly difficult to park unaccounted cash in the form of jewellery or bullion.

Due to various measures taken by the government to tighten the noose around black money, there has been a clear drop in the prices of land and real estate and a decline in the appetite in gold, it said.

Greed, greed & greed. Don't know how builders can be so greedy animals ? Builder goes bankrupt but the buyers who have purchased under-construction flats will be left in lurch. Pay EMI for non-existing flat & pay rent to stay inside some flat. To be safe, buyers should buy ready possession flats with all approvals or stay on rent at fraction of cost. Don't spoil your life for crooks also called as builders.

Monk there are many from Pune in queue why to go to Delhi! Issue is who make the builders able to remain greedy? Still today, people book flats only for rate & amenities without looking for builders repute or even with repute asking for proper documentations. Pre-launch is not legally allowed yet builders gets thousands of bookings in pre-launches! No one asks for NA or sanction plans but just a glossy brouture or 3 D walk-through is enough, even dont ask for carpet, built-up & salable ratios are not displayed on any builders web site, yet people goes behind the builders for booking! I wonder what kind of bunch we are breeding! This is just like news we read each day,being fooled by tricks like get your money double or gold at half price types! This attitude of major customers of real estate is what makes a builder grow in confidence & act reckless!

@ Sanjay Deshpande,Agree with you in this case & appreciate that you frankly said that many from Pune are in queue who will be facing similar fate as their Delhi-NCR counterparts. However, when it comes to buyers, there are 2 types of them -

1. Hoarders, who happen to be the most greedy animals after builders,2. End users. Here there are 2 types -2a. End user who buys post scrutiny by a good property lawyer, & also prefers ready possession flat with all approvals,2b. Idiot end users who just buys thinking either all flats will get sold out or rates will go on increasing without even thinking about legal scrutiny.

Problem in most cities in India is overwhelming majority of buyers happen to be from 1. hoarders & 2b. idiot end users. This is a fantastic combo for increasing the appetite of builders to become more & more greedy as they knew no matter whether they deliver the project or not, there always will be buyers to buy his crap. So we saw builders building more than their execution capacity & being least bothered about timely delivery & quality. And finally, these chaps have hit dead end & here you now see builders going bankrupt, hoarders facing huge losses & end users getting stuck with EMI + rent without assurance of their flat.Greed is universally bad, be it builders or hoarders.

Monk there are many from Pune in queue why to go to Delhi! Issue is who make the builders able to remain greedy? Still today, people book flats only for rate & amenities without looking for builders repute or even with repute asking for proper documentations. Pre-launch is not legally allowed yet builders gets thousands of bookings in pre-launches! No one asks for NA or sanction plans but just a glossy brouture or 3 D walk-through is enough, even dont ask for carpet, built-up & salable ratios are not displayed on any builders web site, yet people goes behind the builders for booking! I wonder what kind of bunch we are breeding! This is just like news we read each day,being fooled by tricks like get your money double or gold at half price types! This attitude of major customers of real estate is what makes a builder grow in confidence & act reckless!

and, we will write, in-fact I have kept record of emails as well draft handing over to the ad-hock committee members, so tomorrow no member should say they havent received society conveyance drafts! I think a strong need is there to take awarenss prograam for the flat buyers & a logical one about their rights as well responsibilities which comes alongwith the rights; what I have observed is most flat buyers want to execute their rights but without taking responsibility! For eg they are not aware about society formation process & formalities required for the same, all they know is builder should form a society but its not builder that has to form a society by coming together as builder is just a facilitator, the flat holders are the society is they forget or are not ready to take lead! Maintenance has two dimensions, one is civil maintenance which is outcome of bad workmanship, that is surely buuilders responsibility but routine maintaiance ie gardening, service contracts of lifts etc is duty of residents only & for that society or apartment whatever it may be, but a body has to be in place! This is where many flat holders feel all is going fine so why bother to take lead! People like yourself, ravi & like minded can form a forum to educate both sides of coin is what i feel, will surely contribute for any assistance!

1. Civic facilities in PMC comeup very slowly, its a lot of time till bhugoan enters PMC. Look at development of Baner,Balewadi -> extremely slow2. The buyers must have bought the flat in 2012 timeframe. It has been 4 years till then. So, I guess the minimum timeframe for early buyers in such kind of huge projects is 4 years.3. There lot of commitments in such projects given/not given by builders and I think it becomes extremely painful to negotiate with builders after you have paid up the flat cost.Going with a Big group to negotiate will also become difficult when people have different ideas/needs and are in different stages of life.4. Bhugoan will need a 3-4 lane on each side considering the POSH townships coming in that location.5. I am happy for the buyers who found peace at the location. I have personally roamed in the area and it is definitely peaceful.

Ravi,The video is something new in your blogspace where people are happy and trying to negotiate with builders. This makes us more aware/educated as a buyer.Cheers to your work towards REAL ESTATE buyers of Pune

In India you will find people who do not consider all the facts which you have mentioned. For somei, t could happen that they never know them or consider it before buying.So, Its great that you are educating them.

We should blame ourself for this mess as we do not elect the right people or follow right people. Politicians declare new places and builders pounce on them and investors/house owners follow. Sometimes people speculate new regions like location of airport(chakan), companies (4-5 years back I had heard microsoft planning to come to hinjewadi). Then we have people who make decisions in a couple of days without thinking .. So on and so forth

Anyways, this is a Big mess!

Also, I would request/encourage you to blog with your real name. My apologies if you did not like my suggestion. But I personally do not like duplicate handles.

"Politicians declare new places and builders pounce on them and investors/house owners follow. Sometimes people speculate new regions like location of airport(chakan), companies (4-5 years back I had heard microsoft planning to come to hinjewadi). Then we have people who make decisions in a couple of days without thinking .. So on and so forth"

- It depends whether buyers are wise or greedy.Greedy people will go blindly anywhere they feel will make them rich over-night. If one remains firmly grounded, and doesn't fall for speculative things & focuses more on existing infrastructure, his choice will always be better as it will be more balanced & well informed choice.

I agree with you :-). I agree Pune/India RE is way to overpriced for the things you get. But, I was trying to put some of the opinions I usually hear from folks/friends. I did that cause I read a lot of Bashing from you and Satyamev on the above post. I was trying to get the view point of the other 9 fellows in the conversation.

Deviating from topic...however usually people weight the opinions expressed based on who made it or trying to tie opinions with what they do...and would bring in bias the way they evaluate the opinions...anonymous opinions does not have aby such baggage and most likely to be evaluated with out any bias..

1. No private club construction in sight :) for which Singing Birds have already paid membership fees upto 2.4 lakhs including service tax. Please note service tax is collected for non existence service.

2. No society formation for nearly 5 mo nths. Singing Birds are happy to see their maintenance diposites waporing away.